I was thinking about adding some whey protein into my diet for body building purposes to build some muscle mass. I have a tough time gaining anything but fat around my mid-section due to insulin use and limited caloric intake. Anyone have advice with this? My main concern is unnecessary protein and renal issues, although I have no known kidney problems… Any thoughts?
So, just so there is something out there about type I’s and bodybuilding, I’ve been taking “Muscle Milk” drink for the past week. On the upside, each one has 18g of carbs, and I haven’t had to give myself any extra insulin for hidden steroids or whatnot… On the downside, I haven’t turned into Mr. Universe in the past week.
I regularly use whey protein shakes to increase my protein intake. The “Muscle Milk” contains extra carbs to help you “bulk up.” I don’t need to “bulk up” I need to “muscle up.” I buy my low carb whey protein powder at Costco in 6 lb bags for cheap and use them to increase my protein intake. I take shakes in the morning, before workouts and after workouts. I’m also quite far fro Mr. Universe, but I am also quite far from the skinny fat I used to be.
Ideally, you actually want to increase insulin after a work-out, that’s why a lot of these drinks have extra carbs. I have experience with both pure whey and muscle milk type drinks and I’ve never had any kind of problem. Just make sure that you don’t drink it before bed because you will definitely wake up high, as protein raises your BG.
Do you all find that it’s harder as a diabetic to gain muscle mass than your non-diabetic friends? I almost find that building muscle is dependent on insulin and ever since I’ve been diabetic, I find it much harder to increase muscle mass. I wonder if it’s related to IGF receptors or something…
Actually, MTender is right. Insulin is the body’s most anabolic hormone. If you want to increase muscle mass, it is best to manipulate post workout nutrition with both insulin and nutrients. I found good reference for guidance on workout nutrition from Sheri Colberg’s work (http://www.shericolberg.com/) and the book Nutrient Timing (http://www.amazon.com/Nutrient-Timing-Future-Sports-Nutrition/dp/1591201411/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261796147&sr=8-1). But don’t be fooled, you don’t want to just eat carbs. Carefully plan your carb intake around your workouts and insulin regime. You do want to carefully plan your postworkout insulin regime to help in the uptake of postworkout carbs, but also to avoid postworkout hypos.
Actually, MTender is right. Insulin is the body’s most anabolic hormone. If you want to increase muscle mass, it is best to manipulate post workout nutrition with both insulin and nutrients. I found good reference for guidance on workout nutrition from Sheri Colberg’s work (http://www.shericolberg.com/) and the book Nutrient Timing (http://www.amazon.com/Nutrient-Timing-Future-Sports-Nutrition/dp/1591201411/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261796147&sr=8-1). But don’t be fooled, you don’t want to just eat carbs. Carefully plan your carb intake around your workouts and insulin regime. You do want to carefully plan your postworkout insulin regime to help in the uptake of postworkout carbs, but also to avoid postworkout hypos.
That makes a lot of sense actually. I imagine insulin used in aggressive dosing strategies timed around workouts with balanced carb/amino acid intake would do the trick. I’ll have to get that book!
I bet that’s been my problem all along, being so careful to minimize insulin during exercise so I don’t go low that it’s been counterproductive with building any sort of muscle. I guess one of those exercise shakes that is not “light” or low-carb would be a really good idea for diabetics for this reason. That way you get the balanced carb load with some amino acids and you’ll be forced to administer insulin…
I know this is an old thread but oh well. Although insulin is anabolic and helps build muscle… After a workout your body is extra sensitive to insulin therefore you don’t need as much, keep that in mind. And muscle building is all about about having a caloric surplus (consuming more calories than you expend) and weight loss is all about caloric deficit.